Gate Keeper
by iluvfairytail
Summary: It's been two years since Lucy Heartfilia disappeared after stopping a scheme that could jeopardize all of Fiore. When she suddenly turns up at this year's Grand Magic Games with a new team and new magic, Natsu is stunned and confused by this new Lucy who treats him and Fairy Tail like strangers. Can he get the old Lucy back, or is she gone for good? (AU - Endgame pairing NaLu)
1. Prologue

July 7, X791

Tears ran down Lucy Heartfilia's face as the walls of Mercurius began to collapse around her. Walls of stone could no longer contain the amount of magical power leaking from the gateway in front of her. Dust floated down from the ceiling, coating her torn clothing, yellow hair and slick skin in a chalky film. Biting her lip to prevent a whimper from escaping, Lucy looked down at the frail girl in her arms.

Yukino Aguria's face rested in Lucy's lap, her face drawn and pale, breaths coming in shallow gasps. Her eyelids fluttered before slowly opening, meeting the brown of Lucy's eyes. Lucy was surprised that the other celestial mage had the strength to do even that. With every passing second, the gateway was drawing out her magical power and life force. With only two of the twelve zodiac keys in her possession, Yukino's life force was being drawn away much faster than Lucy's. Even with her ten keys trying to slow the drain of power, Lucy's eyesight was beginning to blur around the edges – or maybe that was because of the tears.

"Lucy," Yukino whispered weakly.

"Shhh, don't talk," Lucy sniffed. "You should conserve your strength."

The other girl smiled sadly. "It's . . . almost all . . . gone, Lucy. I don't . . . I don't think I'll make it." A single tear slid down her cheek, cutting a path through the dust.

A sob tried to claw its way out of her throat, but Lucy managed to choke it down before glaring at the man who was responsible for all this. Arcadios had turned his back on the two mages, laughing maniacally while reveling in the soon-to-be success of his plan. He had all but forgotten Lucy and Yukino, their purpose fulfilled. Lucy couldn't believe she and Yukino had trusted him! He had made them believe Eclipse would save the world – but in fact it would bring darkness down on them all.

"You can't give up, Yukino. Help will be here soon – just you wait and see! Natsu, Erza and the others will come," Lucy soothed, believing wholeheartedly that Natsu would burst through the doors any second in a fiery rage and pummel the Squadron Chief into the ground.

A sudden surge of power reverberated throughout the hall, causing the entire palace to shake violently. Head-sized rubble rained down on the mages in the hall as Lucy felt a heavy pull within her core being. She gasped and doubled over as a large amount of magic power was ripped away from her body, pulled into the writhing vortex of magic forming at the center of the gateway. Lucy managed to pull herself up into a sitting position again, every muscle in her body resisting the movement. She was just so tired.

Lucy shook her head. _No, I can't give in. I can't let him win! They'll come. I know it! Natsu always comes . . . always._

"Lucy . . ."

She looked down to find Yukino struggling to breathe. Panic seized her as she realized her companion was dying. Help would come too late for the other celestial mage. This time Lucy couldn't stop the sobs from escaping, her eyes squeezed shut in physical and emotional pain. "This isn't how it's supposed to end!" she cried, pulling Yukino closer. "Don't give up! Please!"

". . .Sing for me?"

The unexpected question helped Lucy to somewhat pull herself together. "W-w-what?" she stammered, unsure she'd heard the other girl correctly.

Yukino smiled faintly, her eyes glassy, "Wendy told me you have a . . . lovely singing voice. Please, Lucy . . . I want to hear . . . something pleasant before . . ." She trailed off, unable to finish, her eyelids fluttering closed.

Lucy's tears flowed freely as she bent her head in sorrow. The least she could do for her companion was grant her dying wish. There were no words, only a single line of melody that floated above the surrounding chaos, haunting and pure. With tears streaming down her face and Yukino cradled in her arms, Lucy Heartfilia sang as the world came down around her.

Natsu Dragneel ran through the halls of the collapsing Mercurius, desperation and rage dueling for control within him: desperation to find Lucy, to protect her, and bring her home safely; rage at those responsible for her abduction and at himself for allowing them to take her right from under his nose. He snarled at the thought of his failure. After losing her in the Hell Palace just a day ago, he had vowed to never let her out of his sight again, but he had trusted the people who had taken her. They had said they'd keep her safe, and that Eclipse would erase Zeref's darkness from the world. But that had been a lie. Now Lucy and Yukino's lives were in danger.

Coming to an intersection, Natsu skidded to a halt. Happy flew circles around his head, crying out in worry as Erza and Gray caught up.

"Which way?" Erza asked tersely. She too felt responsible for Lucy's kidnapping. After they had all returned from the palace with Lucy and Yukino, Erza had believed Arcadios when he told the members of Fairy Tail that Lucy and Yukino's power could help him go back in time and stop Zeref. She had watched as Lucy walked away, turning back and waving, "I'll see you guys soon!" She had stopped Natsu from following them. They all didn't learn the truth until a disheveled Jellal, disguised as Mystogan, came rushing into the tavern.

_"Where's Lucy and the other spirit mage?" he had demanded._

_ "You just missed them," Makarov explained, sitting on the bar. "They left with Arcadios about an hour ago. What's all the fuss?"_

_ "I'm too late," Crime Sorciere's master replied in disbelief. He had looked right at Erza and said, "I'm sorry, so sorry. Lucy's in danger: Arcadios lied to you all! We have to stop him!" _

After hearing the truth from Jellal, Fairy Tail had quickly rallied, sending two groups to the palace in hopes to rescue their beloved guild mate. The others had gone to their ally guilds and the council, hoping against hope they could get more help on the way in time. At the gates, Laxus and the Raijinshuu had remained behind to stall the palace guard. Erza, Natsu and Gray had gone ahead, Natsu picking up Lucy's scent immediately.

Natsu lifted his head and took a deep breath through his nose. A myriad of scents flooded his brain, but there was only one that mattered. He would recognize her scent anywhere, could distinguish even the faintest hint of her from the thousands of odors assaulting his senses. Without a word, Natsu turned to the left and began running full speed. Lucy's scent was laced with fear, which only let the rage finally overpower the desperation.

A boom resounded throughout the palace causing the entire building to shake violently. Gray and Natsu were thrown into the walls, while Erza managed to keep her balance, knocking a falling piece of rubble as big as her breastplate away with a swing of her sword. All three mages stiffened as they felt a flare of magic – Lucy's magic.

"We'd better hurry," Gray stood up, brushing the dust of his jacket and glanced up at the now unstable ceiling. He was uncharacteristically still dressed, which was a testament to how worried he was. "The entire place is coming down. We'll all get trapped in here."

Natsu snarled and turned on the ice mage, "Are you saying we should just leave Lucy behind?"

"Natsu . . ." Happy cried, eyes tearful and ears flattened. "Lucy is-"

Eyes narrowing, Gray interrupted, "When did I ever say that, flame brain? I'm saying you're taking too long finding her and that we'll all die if you don't hurry up!"

Before Natsu could throw a punch, Erza stepped between the two irate, worried mages and said, "This is not the time for this. That flare of Lucy's magic was not a good sign. It was too much energy, too fast. You both should know that." A shadow had fallen across her face and she was quivering. Natsu and Gray both understood this to mean Erza was pissed off beyond belief, and it was enough to snap both young men back into reality.

Again, without a word, Natsu started off in the direction of Lucy's scent and the powerful magic threatening to tear Mercurius apart from the inside. _Lucy_, he shouted in his mind, hoping it would somehow reach his most precious nakama. _I'm coming for you. Don't give up on me! I'm coming!_

After that last pull on her magic, Lucy stopped singing, no longer possessing the strength to even cry. Yukino was still in her arms, skin cool to the touch, chest no longer rising with breath, but Lucy didn't notice. She felt numb, staring blankly at the swirling vortex of light that used to be Yukino's, her and countless other mages' magical energy. There was no sound, only a quiet, high-pitched hum in her ears. Blackness rimmed her eyesight. Her head slowly sank down until her chin hit her chest and she was staring at Yukino's still, seemingly peaceful face.

_Is this shock?_ She wondered. _Or am I dying too?_

She didn't hear the doors burst open nor the clash of metal and ice as Erza and Gray met the guards at the door. Neither did she feel the red hot heat of dragon's fire as Natsu stormed into the room, dragging two guards by their collars. He tossed them at the four other guards who charged at him with enough force to slide the disorganized pile of armed men twenty feet across the floor.

Natsu immediately rushed over to Lucy, his rage waning for the moment as he checked to make sure his friend was okay. He knelt down beside her and Yukino, panic rising in his gut when Lucy didn't respond to his presence. He let out a momentary sigh of relief when he realized Lucy was still breathing. Noticing Yukino's lack of movement, Natsu inspected her, realizing with a sickening dread that they had arrived too late for at least one of the celestial mages.

"Lucy!" Happy wailed, flying past Natsu's shocked and angry face, tears trailing behind him. He hugged her chest, but her arms didn't rise up to meet him. "Lucy?" he warbled, looking up at her with round, unsure eyes.

It took a moment for Lucy to register Happy and Natsu's presence, her mind moving like molasses. She continued to stare blankly at Happy, unable to raise her head to meet Natsu's eyes. Hands gripped either side of her face gently and lifted her head up to meet the dragon slayer's intense stare.

"Lucy! Talk to me! Hey!" Natsu cried. His hands were hot, so very hot. The uncomfortable heat was enough to shock Lucy's system back to the present. Sound crashed down around her and the world came back into focus even though she still felt incredibly weak.  
"N-N-Natsu?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sounds of fighting and magic. "You came?" She smiled softly and reached her arms up slowly to cuddle a sobbing Happy to her chest who proceeded to bury his face in Lucy's breasts.

"Idiot, of course I came. I'll always come for you!" Natsu gave her his signature toothy grin, even though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Happy, stay with Luce. I'm gonna turn whoever's responsible for hurting her and Yukino into ashes."

As Natsu stood, Lucy remembered her fellow celestial mage. "Yukino!" She looked down and felt the tears welling up again at what she saw.

"I'll make them pay," Natsu slammed his fist into the open palm of his other hand, flames igniting all over his body. His eyes smoldered in rage as he picked out the man he instinctively knew was in charge. Arcadios scowled at the surrounding chaos and at the pesky Fairy Tail mages who had interrupted this momentous event.

"You're too late, Salamander," Arcadios said smugly. "You can't save your celestial mage friend. The glory of Zeref will prevail!"

"Like hell it's too late! As long as there's breath still in my body, I'll make you regret the day you thought you could hurt Luce and get away with it! That's my promise as a Fairy Tail mage!" Fists wreathed in flame and charging ahead, Natsu shouted, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Lucy felt a surge of strength as she watched her nakama fighting to save her and prevent Arcadios from succeeding in his plan. It would continue sucking out her life force until she died, giving it the energy it needed to open. No matter how hard her friends fought, it would amount to nothing if she didn't close that gateway. Somehow, Lucy knew that she was the only one who could do it.

Now that her mind was relatively clear, Lucy was able to focus on the gateway. It was gigantic, reaching almost all the way to the ceiling. Intricate carvings made their way up the two supporting columns of the arch before curving into the arch. Four cross symbols adorned the arch, topped by four matching fleur patterns that somewhat resembled phoenixes taking flight. An additional four columns rose up behind the arch, the outer columns connected to the inner two by buttresses. Dead center on the top of the gateway, connecting the two inner columns, was a black keystone with a pointed top and a ring in its center. On either side of the gateway, a slim, curved arm descended toward the floor, magical energy shooting in streams from pointed nodes at regular intervals along their lengths.

Though beautiful, these details were not as important as what was sitting beneath the arch. Set at regular intervals and locked into place were the twelve celestial keys of the zodiac, glowing intensely like molten gold with the amount of magical energy they were conducting. Ten of those were hers and Lucy desperately hoped that her spirits were not experiencing the same energy drain as she.

_The gateway must be blocking my spirits and I from opening the door to the spirit realm_, Lucy thought. _ Loke definitely would have shown up by now if he could have. _

The gateway's light intensified, pulling even more life force out of Lucy and causing the entire palace to quake ominously. Lucy gasped in shock and pain, letting go of Happy and caught herself from falling on her face by placing her hands on the floor so that she was on hands and knees. The world spun wildly then went completely black for a moment, making her retch violently from the vertigo. Wiping her mouth, she gained her bearings and glared at the evil machinery stealing her life away.

_Another pull of that magnitude will kill me_, she thought grimly. _I have to stop this now!_

Without thinking it through, Lucy began to crawl towards the gateway, now unable to stand or walk. She could barely get her limbs to move forward, fatigue fighting for control. Oh, how nice it would be to just lie down and fall asleep! But Lucy stamped down that desire as best she could and continued to laboriously crawl toward the magic door.

Happy hopped alongside her. "Lucy, where are you going?" he cried desperately. "You shouldn't be moving!"  
"Happy," Lucy panted, stopping for a moment to look the blue cat in the eyes. "This is something I think only I can do, something I must do!"

"Why only you?"

Lucy sighed and continued to crawl. "It's mostly celestial magic. I'm the only . . . " Lucy choked on that word, thinking of how she had failed Yukino. "I'm the only one here who can control this magic."

When Lucy noticed Happy was still following her, she turned to him and said, "You can't follow me there, Happy."

"But Natsu told me to stay with you!" he cried, flying up into the air suddenly, clearly upset.

"You'll get hurt if you get close to that magic, Happy," Lucy replied sadly. "You're not a celestial mage, right?"

Happy sank back down to the floor. "No . . ." he admitted. "But what about you, Lucy?"

Lucy gave him her brightest smile – at least she hoped it was close to that. "I'll be fine!" she answered. "This is my magic after all. It won't harm me!" She hated lying to Happy, knowing how upset he'd be after everything was over. Happy thought it over and then nodded. He stopped following her, leaving her alone again.

Lucy's smile faded as she turned away and continued arduously forward. The truth was that she probably wouldn't live through this day. There was no way Lucy could take in the amount of magical energy concentrated in the gateway and survive. It contained nearly all of her magic, all of Yukino's magic, the magic of the twelve zodiac keys and bits of magic from all the mages who had participated in the Daimatou Enbu over the last seven years. The shear power emanating from the gateway was almost enough to knock her down as she crawled closer.

Reaching the base of the arch, Lucy reached up and gripped the outermost column. Muscles screaming in protest, she managed to pull herself up to stand. Panting from the effort, Lucy leaned against the column, feeling the warmth of celestial magic brush her face. Remarkably, the magic calmed as Lucy drew nearer, swirling lazily instead of the erratic writhing of before. It seemed to beckon her with its warm, golden light, reminding her of home. Lucy was surprised to find a soft smile on her face as she stepped into the doorway.

That smile soon disappeared once the pain hit.

Natsu jumped back to avoid the deadly spell one of Arcadios' dark mages threw at him, landing between Erza and Gray. Gray had inevitably lost his jacket and shirt somewhere in the fray and was glaring at the dark mages as a fresh cut oozed blood along his right side. In a flash of light, Erza requipped from Purgatory Armor to her normal armor and assessed the situation. If they didn't stop Arcadios' plan soon, Lucy's magic and life would be pulled away, allowing that doorway to open.

In a smug monologue a few minutes back, Arcadios had told them what lay beyond the gateway. Acnologia was bad enough, but this . . .

Catching herself in thought, she 'tsked' and narrowed her eyes at the Zeref-obsessed man. She glanced over at Gray and Natsu, catching Gray's eyes in return. He nodded at her; he was following her lead. Natsu, on the other hand, was seething, flames leaking out of his mouth and pooling around his feet. His skin had turned partially scaly and his face was clenched in rage. Erza smiled grimly to herself – once Natsu got this way, there wasn't much on this Earth that could stop him.

Except Lucy.

A sudden change in the magical energy of the gate brought the three Fairy Tail mages out of battle mode. As if in slow motion, Erza turned to look at the gateway and her stomach dropped as she saw Lucy standing right before the magic doorway. Arcadios cursed loudly and one of the nameless dark mages prepared a black spell to throw at her, but he was too late. They were all too late. Erza could only watch in horror as one of her closest friends walked straight to her death.

Natsu bolted toward Lucy and the gateway without thinking. He had to stop her! He wasn't exactly sure what would happen to the celestial mage, but something told him it wasn't good. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Happy who was sitting twenty feet away from the gateway, watching Lucy intently.

"Lucy!" he screamed. "Stop!"

Without even a glance behind her, Lucy stepped into the doorway. A sudden flash of light and wave of magic hit Natsu in the chest, throwing him into Gray who had been right behind him. The two men toppled to floor, arms raised to shield their eyes from the light. Erza stopped beside them and turned her head away, her hair whooshing about her face as the blowback from the magic surge hit them.

Within the gateway, Lucy let the magic overtake her. It poured into her, filling both her "containers" almost instantaneously. The pain didn't hit until the magic pushing into her no longer had a safe place to reside. It stretched her "containers" painfully, before she felt an inner snap as they tore open, flooding her entire body in pure magic energy. Lucy screamed as pain more intense than any she had ever experienced burned through her muscles, blood vessels and organs. It infiltrated every cell, saturating her body in an effort to find a safe holding place. Lucy felt something deeper inside tear, an even sharper pain making her scream again. Her wail of agony was cut off as blood gurgled up in her throat, cutting off her air supply. Violently retching, Lucy fell to her hands and knees, succumbing to the indescribable weight of power.

_This is it_. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She'd done enough crying today to last a lifetime. The thought made her laugh bitterly before she coughed up more blood. _I won't have a lifetime now, huh?_

_Lucy,_ a voice whispered in her mind.

Head snapping up, Lucy looked around, but all she could see was the bright golden warmth of celestial magic. She knew that voice . . .

"Loke?" she whispered, the taste of her own blood strong on her tongue. She swallowed thickly and asked again, "Loke, is that you? How can you be here?"

"This is your magic power, and the power of the keys. We spirits are just a reflection of your magic here, so our essence is in here with you." Within the swirling power, the golden outline of her friend and most powerful spirit, Leo the Lion, or Loke as her guild mates knew him, appeared before her. His eyes held sadness and concern, but also determination. "Lucy, there's a chance you can live through this."

Hope sparked within Lucy, but it was washed away as a new wave of pain rolled through her body. She let out another scream, almost falling onto her side. Incorporeal hands caught her and helped her to sit up. Lucy looked over to see an outline of Virgo, her hands resting on Lucy's shoulder.

"I'm dying," Lucy whispered. "Every cell in my body feels like they're about to burst!"

"Lucy, do you trust us?" Loke asked, his head now close to hers.

"Of course I do . . ."

"Then let the magic take you. We'll handle the rest," Loke caressed her cheek with a finger. "You are the master of the zodiac and too precious to us to lose."

"But there is still a chance you may die . . . or lose yourself in the process, hime," Virgo added. "Do you wish to continue?"

Lucy closed her eyes. If there were even a remote chance she'd get to see Natsu and her friends again, she'd jump at it. "Yes," she breathed. She may still die, but at least there was a small glimmer of hope. Lucy latched onto that hope, her resolve returning as she smiled up at Loke.

He smiled and faded back into the twisting lights. Virgo helped Lucy stand and then she faded as well. The magic within the gateway was almost all within her, and still it found places to squeeze into. The pressure in her cells grew with every second until Lucy was sure she would explode. The pain was gone, her nerves fried and unable to conduct pain signals to her brain.

As the magic cleared, she was able to look out into the hall. Her eyes immediately found her friends. Happy had moved to Natsu's side, hugging the fire dragon slayer's arm, watching the arch with wide, terror-filled eyes. Natsu and Gray were on the floor, frozen in place while Erza stood behind them, a look of desperation in her eyes.

"Sorry guys," Lucy whispered, knowing they wouldn't be able to hear her. "This is something I have to do. I'll see you again, I promise." The last bit of magic swelled up and entered her body, leaving her in full view of her friends.

As soon as Lucy came back into view, Natsu shook himself out of his stupor. Before Erza or Gray could stop him, Natsu moved toward the gateway. Lucy looked at him, surrounded by a golden aura of light, specks of magic rising from her skin to dissipate in the air. Even though Natsu knew this was wrong – Lucy shouldn't be able to hold all that magic – he couldn't help but think she looked beautiful at that moment. It was almost as if time slowed in those last few seconds: as Natsu ran closer, he realized that the specks of magic rising off her skin weren't the excess magic espcaping. Lucy's body was disappearing.

"Lucy!" he cried. If only he could hold on to her, he'd prevent her from disappearing. He would be her anchor in this world. He reached out to her even as her form became transparent.

Smiling sadly at her best friend, Lucy completely faded away as Natsu fell through the space in which she had just been standing. The dragon slayer fell to his knees, breathing in her lingering scent. The gateway lay dark around him, no magic left to power it. Arcadios' Eclipse plan had been thwarted, but at a high cost – too high a cost. Not bothering to hold back tears, Natsu lifted his face toward the ceiling and let out a dragon's roar full of rage, guilt and anguish. Lucy was gone.


	2. Oaths and Offerings

July 7, X793

Lisanna Strauss paused at the entrance to the cemetery, unsure if she should continue forward. She had come here looking for a certain rose-haired mage, the cemetery her last resort. He wasn't at the guild, at home, nor by the river and they were both going to be left behind unless they got to the guild soon. Never in the past two years had Natsu visited this place, but Lisanna had a feeling today he would be here. It had been exactly two years since Lucy Heartfilia had disappeared after all.

Pushing lightly on the gate, Lisanna entered the graveyard and a hush fell around her. The noises of the outside world faded away, replaced by the silence of dew-covered grass and the empty company of those passed. The early morning rays of sun were blocked by the cathedral, which loomed over Lisanna as she made her way amidst the rows of graves. She had walked this path many times over the last two years to visit Lucy's grave.

Lisanna stopped as the grave came into view. It was located near the back of the cemetery, underneath an old oak tree. Unlike most of the cemetery, the cathedral's shadow did not reach here, allowing the golden warmth of the early morning sun to fall upon the memorial site. Erza and Levy had decided on the place, thinking Lucy would have liked it there. It wasn't the sight of the memorial that made Lisanna pause, but the pink-haired man and blue Exceed standing before it. Natsu's fists were clenched, his entire body tense as he stared silently down at the grey headstone before him.

Out of the entire guild, Natsu had taken Lucy's disappearance the hardest. In the past two years, he had changed from a carefree, mischievous and optimistic teenage boy to a somewhat more mature and serious young man. Natsu no longer smiled as readily as before, his trademark toothy grin all but absent. He no longer started the bar fights that were commonplace in the guild, only jumping into the fray if someone accidentally hit him. Though he still took paid jobs with Erza and Gray, Natsu also spent a lot of time following even the smallest of leads on Lucy and Igneel's whereabouts. Each time he and Happy inevitably returned empty-handed, Lisanna's heart would break for her two closest friends.

"I'll find you, Luce. I promise," the dragon slayer said behind clenched teeth. "I know you're out there somewhere." Natsu paused and tilted his head slightly in Lisanna's direction before relaxing his body. "Hey, Lisanna."

She took this as a sign she could approach, moving to stand next to him. They hadn't been the first to visit this place today. An organized row of colorful flowers, which spelled out the word "Flower," and an intricately crafted iron chrysanthemum lay at the base of the stone, indicating that Levy and Gajeel had stopped by sometime that morning. A rose made of ice was laid on top of the gravestone, glinting in the bright light of morning, evidence of Gray's presence.

Before saying anything, Lisanna crouched down and placed the bouquet of lilies and forget-me-nots she had brought next to Levy's offering. It was then that Lisanna noticed the small bouquet of yellow and pink wildflowers clutched in Happy's paws, held together with a simple string. Smiling softly, she held her hand out to Happy, gesturing for him to give her the bouquet. Happy placed it gently in her hand and she arranged them between her and Levy's flowers. Lisanna stood and smiled as she looked down at the mini garden before her. It was quite lovely and befitting of Lucy's memory.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, Lisanna glanced to the side at her companion. He was watching her with narrowed, almost angry eyes and his mouth was turned down in a scowl.

"What?" she asked.

Natsu turned away, continuing to frown at the assortment of gifts that decorated Lucy's grave. "I don't understand why people bring gifts and flowers to a grave for someone who's not dead. I don't understand why she even has a grave!"

"I think it's a way for those of us left behind to feel close to her," Lisanna replied. She rested her hand on her friend's arm and smiled at him reassuringly. "This place fills the void she left, lets us feel some semblance of closure. I like to believe that wherever she may be, Lucy can feel her friends' well wishes and gains strength from it."

"She's not dead!" he snapped. ". . . She can't be. She wouldn't leave us like that!"

"And I believe you, Natsu," Lisanna smiled at him.

Natsu blinked at her, unsure. "You do?"  
"Of course! Though I didn't know Lucy as well as everyone else, I know she has a strong heart and loves Fairy Tail with all her might. It'd take more than a powerful gateway of black magic to tear her away from us." Lisanna smiled at her friend, who turned to look down at the memorial. "Even if you can't find her, she'll find a way back to us, I'm sure of it!"

Natsu sighed, and then snorted. He looked over at his childhood friend and smiled, one of the first true smiles he'd given Lisanna since that horrible day. "Thanks, Lisanna. It's nice to know at least one other person believes in her!"

"Aye! I believe in Lucy too!" Happy piped up as he flew up in the air. "We'll find her, Natsu! Maybe Lucy just got lost!"

Lisanna and Natsu laughed at the idea. "Yeah," Natsu agreed. "Without us, she's hopeless, huh?"

"I don't think Lucy would agree with that," Lisanna shook her head. "We should get going, you know. Everyone will leave us behind if we don't make it to the guild soon. We were supposed to leave an hour ago, but a certain dragon slayer and blue cat didn't show."

Natsu 'tsked' and looked away, his temporary good mood gone. "I should be out looking for Igneel and Lucy, not playing games with other guilds."

"Master thinks it'll be good for you," Lisanna scolded. "And I think so too! Also, all the guilds will be gathered in one place. If anyone knows about Lucy, they'll probably be there! Think about that!"

Natsu seemed to think hard about it and then nodded. "I guess I never thought about it that way – but why do I have to be on the team?"

"Because you're Fairy Tail's newest S-class mage," Lisanna explained. Indeed, Natsu had earned S-class status earlier this year during the exam. He'd thought being S-class would better allow him to find not only Igneel, but Lucy as well. "And Master ordered you to," Lisanna added.

"Sheesh, whatever," he muttered. "I guess we should go, then."

As they turned and began to walk away, Natsu paused. Turning back to Lucy's memorial, he cupped his hands over his mouth and breathed into them.

"Natsu?" Lisanna asked, confused.

The dragon slayer walked up to the gravestone, making sure not to crush the flowers crowding around its base. He lowered his cupped palms, revealing a small, bright flame. Nudging Gray's offering to the side with an annoyed 'tsk', he placed the small flame right in the center.

"I miss you, Luce," he whispered so that Lisanna and Happy wouldn't hear. "Come back soon." He turned back to the mage and Exceed waiting a few yards away. Smacking a clenched fist into the open palm of his other hand, Natsu grinned and exclaimed, "Okay, let's go make Fairy Tail the number one guild in Fiore!"


	3. Reveries and Races

After two years of absence, the first sight Natsu had of Crocus was the ground as he fell face first onto the train platform. There was a muffled curse above him as Gray almost tripped and fell on top of him. Natsu did not care, ignoring Gray's light kick to his side and curt, "Get up. You're blocking the exit of the train, flame brain."

_Oh blessed solid ground,_ Natsu thought, swallowing back bile and too weak to even move to hands and knees. _Why the train? Why do we always take the train?_

"Gray, he's sick," Lisanna's voice floated above admonishingly. "Help me carry him."

"Oi, what?"

Happy landed next to Natsu's face, wings fluttering closed, and poked his friend's cheek. After getting no response, he looked up at Lisanna and said, "I think we killed Natsu."

Natsu cracked open an eye and mumbled, "Not dead. Not yet –" Unable to fight the rising nausea anymore, the dragon slayer managed to get onto all fours, turn around and barf on the tracks. The people around made sounds of disgust, giving the Fairy Tail mages a wide berth. Lisanna crouched down next to her friend, rubbing circles on his back as he lost his entire breakfast and lunch. Once he was completely empty inside, Lisanna offered him a tissue and a canteen of water, which he took thankfully.

With Gray and Lisanna's help, Natsu managed to stand up, but he still felt woozy. "Why did we have to take the train?" Natsu whined as they made their way to the train station exit, where Erza and their other guild mates waited. "Laxus and Gajeel didn't take the train."

"That's because they're not on the team and don't need to be in Crocus until tomorrow," Lisanna explained. When they reached the other mages, Gray let go and Lisanna asked, "Are you okay to stand?"

"Yeah," Natsu replied, already feeling his strength returning. Once on solid ground, it did not take long for the fire dragon slayer to regain his bearings. He looked around at his surroundings, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu; the last time he had been here, Lucy had supported him while he recovered from his motion sickness, talking light-heartedly with Happy and Gray about things to do in Crocus. His thoughts darkening, Natsu moved away from Lisanna and the others, stepping outside to study the city in which he had not stepped foot for two years - a city that now only held sad memories.

Crocus had not changed much in two years. The same buildings lined the streets, the same shops sold their wares, and the same people walked along the streets, talking, laughing and going about their daily lives. But one thing was certainly different – the magnificent spire of Mercurios no longer rose above the skyline, shining in the bright sunlight. In its place was an empty expanse of blue sky, almost like a scar above the capital city of Fiore.

Shortly after Lucy's disappearance, Mercurios had crumbled to the ground, its infrastructure taking too much damage from the immense magical power of the Eclipse gateway . . . and dragon slayer's magic. Natsu had no memory of the events immediately after Lucy faded away into nothing – only an intense emotional imprint of rage. He came to a few days later in the Daimatou Enbu infirmary, chained to a bed with Gajeel-wrought iron and one of the Magic Council's anti-magic bracelets secured on each wrist. Erza and Gray, who had been sitting with him at the time, filled in the blanks of Natsu's memory. After Lucy's disappearance, Natsu had been consumed with an intense, indomitable rage that sent him into a rampage directed at the Eclipse gateway and those responsible for its existence. Erza and Gray had tried to subdue him, but Natsu's rage proved too strong for his two friends, a fact proven by Gray's arm in a sling. It took the combined efforts of Erza, Laxus and Gajeel, the former two arriving just before Natsu succeeded in killing Arcadios and his men, to finally subdue, knock out, and bind their guild-mate. Natsu's rage-fueled attacks within the large antechamber of the palace had been the last pressure Mercurios' support structure could withstand before completely giving way. Fortunately, everyone had made it out of the royal palace alive . . . except Lucy.

"Natsu," A curt voice snapped him out of his dark thoughts. He looked over his shoulder to see Erza standing a few feet away, arms crossed. "We need to check our stuff into the hotel and then head to the meet point. The elimination round starts in two hours and we're running late as it is. Did you get your stuff yet?" Seeing the look in her friend's eyes, Erza's expression softened as she stepped closer to the fire mage. "Are you going to be alright, being back here?"

Shrugging non-committedly, Natsu turned and walked past his team captain. "All the stuff I need's here," he pointed at his backpack, then turned and grinned at the requip mage, though it didn't quite fill his eyes. Erza followed Natsu with her gaze as he rejoined the small group of Fairy Tail mages that had come to Crocus for the elimination round: the Daimatou Enbu team, which consisted of herself, Natsu, Gray, Juvia and Freed, then Lisanna, Happy, Mirajane and Makarov, who was required to sign Fairy Tail into the Games.

Just as she was about to follow Natsu, Erza caught motion in the corner of her eye. A cloaked figure stood in the shadow of an alley across the street, facing her. It nodded its head in acknowledgement of Erza's glance, then melded back into the shadows, disappearing with a brief flash of pink hair. Sighing in relief, Erza smiled at the reminder from Meredy that Crime Sorciere was around. Though still outlaws, the quartet had followed Fairy Tail here, suspicious of the Daimatou Enbu's comeback. With Meredy's presence as a reminder, Erza's thoughts turned to her visit with Jellal that very morning.

_Erza stood at the edge of a clearing in the woods just outside Magnolia. It was early in the morning, but if she didn't get back to the guild soon, her team would leave without her. But she was meeting someone here; someone she had not seen in a while. If she were the type of person to fidget, she would have at that moment, but Erza remained straight-backed and still. She had been waiting here for a half hour._

_ Just as the sun rose, a pigeon had perched itself outside her bedroom window, raising a ruckus. Not a morning person in the slightest, Erza had been very close to hurling a weapon at the defenseless bird, but luckily she had noticed the small note tied to its leg. She had taken the note and the bird fled, fearing her wrath. Unfurling the slip of paper, she had read: _

Meet me at our usual spot.

- J

_ Movement beyond the tree line distracted Erza from her reverie. Four hooded figures stepped out into the clearing and stopped. The tallest figure turned to the other three, gestured for them to stay back, then turned and approached Erza. He stopped a few feet away from Erza and waited._

_ "I wasn't followed," Erza stated. "You should be safe . . . Jellal."_

_ The man reached up and flipped back his hood, revealing dark blue hair and a distinctive red tattoo above and below his right eye. He smiled at Erza, his eyes crinkling – a genuine smile. "Erza," he greeted. "It's been a while."_

_ "Yes, about six months," Erza replied. She gave a small smile in return. Even though she and Jellal had agreed they could not be together right now, she still harbored feelings for him. "Has something happened? You called me here suddenly." Erza paused and then asked, "Is it about Lucy?"_

_ Jellal hesitated a moment too long before replying, "Nothing on Lucy. I'm sorry Erza, but we haven't heard anything about her since her disappearance."_

_ Erza narrowed her eyes at her childhood friend and old enemy. "You're a horrible liar, Jellal. I've let it slide the last few times, but you know something about Lucy's disappearance, don't' you?"_

_ Jellal's gaze shifted away from the red head for a moment as he glanced back at his three guild mates. "I can't tell you anything, Erza." His gaze met hers again and he held it. "Just believe me when I say, it's better that you don't know anything."_

_ "Bullshit," Erza snapped, the word surprising even the mage who uttered it. Erza rarely cursed, but she was angry. "If you know something about Lucy, tell me. Don't spare my feelings because it's bad news!" And Erza was sure it was bad news. Why else would Jellal hide this from her? "I, and everyone in Fairy Tail, deserve a definite answer."_

_ Sighing, Jellal looked away again. Erza braced herself for bad news: Lucy was dead. She hadn't just disappeared that day. She was gone forever and nothing she, Jellal or Fairy Tail did would bring her back. Fighting back rising tears, Erza waited for the words to spill from Jellal's mouth. But those words never came._

_ "Erza, please believe me when I say, it's better for everyone involved if you don't know," he said firmly. _

_ Studying his face, Erza realized he was being sincere. Though she desperately wanted to know about her friend, she would trust Jellal's words for now. She nodded curtly, allowing Jellal to continue._

"_The dark guilds have been quiet these past two years. Too quiet. There's been no word on Zeref since Eclipse failed. Even Tartaros has seemingly gone dormant."_

_ Erza frowned. "Do you think they're up to something?"_

_ Jellal glanced at her sideways. "We can't be sure, but the Daimatou Enbu's sudden comeback is suspicious. They claim they're holding it again due to popular demand, but there could easily be hidden motives behind it."_

_ "You want Fairy Tail to look for evidence of black magic?" Erza asked._

_ "I want you and Fairy Tail to be wary," Jellal answered. "The Daimatou Enbu only existed as a front for Zeref's followers to raise magical power. This comeback makes us uncomfortable."_

_ Before Erza could reply, one of the hooded figures called out, "Oi, 'Fearless Leader!' Are you gonna continue spilling your feelings to your girlfriend or are we gonna book it before the Council finds us?"_

_ "Tsk," Jellal glanced behind him and muttered, "Why did we let_ him_ join?"_

_ "Is that -?" Erza started to ask, but the man who had spoken sauntered over and lowered his hood. "Cobra."_

_ The ex-Oracion Seis member grinned and nodded at Erza. "Titania. Looks like I'm one of the good guys now! Ultear broke me outta prison and everything!" His grin faded, and the dragon slayer looked away. "Uh, how's Cuber- uh, Kinana?"_

_ Smiling softly, Erza replied, "She's doing fine. Her grasp on transformation magic is getting stronger, but she's still got some training to do. She has a good teacher in Mirajane."_

_ Cobra looked relieved and was about to reply, but Jellal interrupted, "You're right, Cobra. We do need to get going." Turning back to Erza, he said, "Be cautious and stay safe."_

_ "I will."_

_ Jellal and Cobra turned, pulling their hoods back up as they walked back to Ultear and Meredy. Halfway, Jellal paused and turned, "We'll be watching. If you need us, you know how to reach us." Erza nodded and Jellal joined his guild, and they retreated, leaving Erza alone once again._

"Did you see something?" Gray asked from right beside her, making Erza start slightly.

"No, nothing. I just remembered something important." Looking over at Gray's questioning expression, Erza avoided an explanation by continuing with, "Gray, clothes." Walking back toward the group, Erza smirked as Gray jumped and twisted around, trying to find the shirt he had unconsciously discarded.

Two hours later, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Juvia and Freed stood by a post on which their guild symbol was printed, in a field located thirty minutes north of Crocus. About fifty other teams were grouped around their respective posts, which were spaced three yards away from adjacent teams. Only one team per guild was allowed to compete this year, mostly due to the confusion caused by two Fairy Tail teams making it to the final games two years ago.

"Juvia wonders what this year's elimination will be," the water mage mused.

"You never know with these guys. For all we know, we'll be expected to balance books on our heads while standing on one foot," Gray replied, sidling up next to Juvia.

Without replying, Juvia moved to stand next to Freed, who was analyzing his surroundings. Even though Natsu had been preoccupied these past two years with finding Lucy and Igneel, he had noticed the change in Gray and Juvia's relationship. It was hard not to – everyone in the guild had. Juvia no longer called the ice-make mage 'Gray-sama,' nor did she follow him around and gush about her everlasting love at anyone who cared to listen. Something bad had happened between the two after Lucy disappeared, something that made Juvia treat Gray coldly and Gray to hold guilt in his eyes whenever she was around.

"WELCOME TO THE EIGHTH DAIMATOU ENBU!" a voice suddenly boomed over the field, causing a few people to startle and others to cover their ears. "Fifty guilds have entered, but only six will make it to the competition portion of the games! In order to make it to the games, your team must successfully complete the elimination round! At the base of your assigned post, five tokens will appear. You will have 15 minutes to assign a token to each member of your team. You may not switch tokens after the allotted time has ended. Time starts . . . now!"

As the voice cut off, five small, flat wooden discs appeared in a swirl of magic at the base of the post. Freed picked them up, handing one to each mage, and the team inspected them. Each disc was labeled with a different pictogram: a mountain, waves, a cloud, three rings interconnected, and a person running. On the opposite side of the discs, the number '4' was also printed.

"What do these mean?" Gray asked, puzzled.

Freed frowned, studying the disc in front of him. "It seems like each disc corresponds to a task of some sort. The pictogram is a clue, to allow each team to chose the team member most suited for that task. The number may be a ranking, since it is the same on all of our discs."

"Juvia should have the waves then," Erza said, handing her disc to the water mage.

"Yes," Freed agreed, then ventured, "A cloud represents the sky or air, so we should assign someone with flight magic to that task." He looked up at Erza and said, "I suppose that's either you or I. Since we have sea and air, the mountain most likely means a land task. It's the other two which don't fit the pattern – land, sea and sky."

"The dude running seems fairly straight forward," Gray added, staring at his disc. "Someone fast."

"It's just the rings that don't make sense," Erza frowned.

The team frowned over their respective discs, and then began to discuss assignments. Before the end of the fifteen minutes, the Fairy Tail team members held their assigned tokens. As soon as the timer ended, the wooden tokens disappeared, leaving their symbols and number floating in the air in front of their assigned person. The symbols then slithered up and around each team member, landing and sticking to their backs: Gray with the mountain, Juvia with the waves, Erza with the cloud, Freed with the rings, Natsu with the running man, and all, the number four.

"Now that you have been assigned your tokens, the rules for this event will be explained," the same voice from before boomed. "This year's elimination game is a five-part relay race. Each symbol represents a different aspect of the race: Mountain is Land, Waves is Sea, Cloud is Sky, Rings is Obstacle, and the Man is Dash. The race will also be conducted in that order. Each team will also be given a guild token –" A square white cloth with a red Fairy Tail insignia on it appeared in Gray's hand. "Each team member must successfully complete their leg of the race and hand their guild token to the next person. For example, Mountain must hand the token to Waves before Waves can start their portion of the race. Tokens may be stolen by other teams, but not during a hand off between teammates. The six fastest teams will move on to the final rounds.

Due to the amount of teams participating, there will be five races run at different times. Each race will consist of ten teams. Each team was randomly assigned a number: Ones will go first and fives will go last. Teams assigned to the first race please step forward and stand by your symbols." Once the announcer finished, the crowd of mages shuffled around as ten teams made their way to the front where the five symbols appeared, hovering in the air.

"Fairy Tail," someone said from behind Natsu. Recognizing that voice, Natsu turned to see Sting Eucliffe smirking smugly at them. The rest of his team stood behind him, Rogue Cheney and Dobengal the only two Natsu had met before. Standing next to Dobengal stood a brown-haired woman with tattoos covering every inch of skin except her face. It was the person standing behind the four that interested Natsu most – a figure in a black hooded cloak that obscured their entire body and, to Natsu's surprise, their scent.

"Sabertooth," Erza nodded.

The light dragon slayer snorted, "I'm sure we'll see each other on the field tomorrow, but we intend on regaining our rightful spot as the most powerful guild in Fiore." As they walked away, Sting turned and added, "You should try to aim higher than last place this time."

"Bastard," Gray muttered once the Sabertooth team was out of earshot.

Freed and Juvia nodded in agreement, but Erza moved in front of Natsu, blocking his path. The flame mage growled in frustration, but he did not try to push past Erza. Instead, he settled on glowering at the white dragon slayer as he stood with the other mages assigned to Dash. As if he could feel Natsu's intense stare, Sting turned, smirked at the Fairy Tail mage, and saluted as blue magic swirled around him. In a bright flash, he, and the rest of group one, were gone.

Erza turned to face her team and sighed. "Now, we wait."

Four long hours later, it was finally Fairy Tail's turn. Wishing each other luck, the five guild mates split up and stood by their symbol's group. Gray looked down at the Fairy Tail symbol in his hand, clenching it into a fist. Whatever he did, he could not lose that piece of cloth. A normal person would probably tuck it into a piece of clothing, but Gray couldn't guarantee his entire outfit would make it to the finish line.

"So, I'm racing against you, Gray," a familiar voice chuckled behind him.

Gray turned to see his old friend and rival, Lyon Bastia, standing just behind him, hands in his coat pockets and a smirk on his face.

"Hmph," Gray grinned in anticipation. "It's been a while, Lyon. Ready to lose?"

The other ice-make mage's eyes narrowed as he replied, "We'll see about that."

"RACE 4 PARTICIPANTS READY YOURSELVES FOR TRANSPORT!" the announcer boomed, making both Gray and Lyon cringe. The other mages in their group shifted nervously as blue bubbly magic swirled around everyone. A bright flash of light later, Gray found himself standing in a completely different setting, the rest of his team nowhere to be found. Before him lay an unreal landscape of steep hills, deep valleys, cliffs, bogs, dense forests, desert and even what looked like a glacier in the distance. From a patch of forest, a creature screamed in alarm, followed by a loud roar. The scream cut off abruptly.

"They really do go all out for this thing, don't they?" Gray mused.

"Afraid?" Lyon stepped up next to him.

Snorting in derision, "Definitely not. As Natsu would put it, I'm all fired up. You?"

"Never. Looks like fun."

The two men grinned at each other in anticipation, while the other eight mages in their group stared in horror at what lay before them.

"PLACES!" the announcer boomed from everywhere and nowhere. Guild insignias appeared on the ground behind a white line. "If you need assistance during the race, shoot a stream of magic straight into the air and a referee will be with you shortly, but keep in mind you will suffer a sixty second penalty for each rescue . . . On the count of zero, you may start."

In the air before each mage a countdown clock started at 30. Feeling a shot of adrenaline pump through his veins, Gray prepared to run, watching the clock tick down. As soon as it hit zero, he was off, a path of ice forming immediately in front of him, with Lyon close behind.

The first day of the eighth Daimatou Enbu had officially begun.


	4. Slime and Spectres

Natsu sat in his chair, left cheek plastered to the table top, and sighed as Gray set a full mug of beer in front of his face before sitting down next to him at the table. Too tired to move, Natsu continued to stare straight ahead through the mug, his sight yellowed and distorted by the bubbly liquid. He had not asked for beer and was about to say so, but Gray looked just as tired as everyone else at the table, so Natsu just pushed the offering aside. Apparently, Natsu wasn't the only one who had a rough time during the race. Gray had a fresh set of bruises scattered about his body and he had been favoring his right leg since their team had left the game field. Freed sat with arms crossed, scowling at his drink, hair still wet from the shower he had taken as soon as they had all returned to the inn. He had arrived at the hand off point with Natsu covered cowlicks to boots in a pungent, green jelly-like slime, yet was otherwise unharmed. Natsu sported a new black eye, a cracked rib or two and a bruised ego. Who would have thought running would be so tiring?

"So Freed - " Cana ventured, slurring her words slightly. Most of the guild had arrived in Crocus while the team had still been waiting its turn, and Cana had gotten a head start on everyone with the booze.

"No," the other man interrupted.

"But they've all shared what they went through," she whined. "Gray had to go through jungles full of beasts, deserts, mountains and even climb a fuckin' glacier. Juvia swam through water full of sharks, whirlpools, and underwater volcanoes. Erza had to fly through rain, snow, lightning and shit while watching out for giant man-eating birds. You must have had an interesting task, since you were covered in green goop and all."

Natsu laughed, sat up, and threw a peanut at Freed. It bounced off his freshly pressed, white button-up shirt and disappeared beneath the table. "Yeah, Freed. Fess up! Oh! Did you have to fight a jelly monster?" Natsu was suddenly excited at the prospect of fighting a monster made out of food.

Freed glared at Natsu, but before he could reply, a commotion at the entrance distracted everyone at the table. Two tall men, a teenaged girl and two Exceeds entered the tavern. Laxus, Gajeel, and Wendy, Fairy Tail's other resident dragon slayers, had finally arrived after taking alternative transportation to Crocus. Gajeel and Laxus had not changed much these past two years: Gajeel still sported his multiple iron piercings and long hair; Laxus his spiky yellow hair and less-than-stylish fashion choices. Wendy, however, had grown quite a bit in height, but to her dismay, still lacked in certain other "womanly" areas.

Using Laxus' entrance as his escape route, Freed stood, said, "If you would excuse me," and promptly rushed over to where Laxus had sat down.

"Aw man, whatta chicken," Cana pouted, taking a swig of the rum bottle she had snuck away from the bar. Her disappointment did not last for long because she quickly turned to Natsu and saluted him with her rum. "Itshyour turn, Natsu!"

Resting his face in one hand, Natsu drummed his fingers across the table, thinking back to earlier that day.

_ "Just take the damned thing!" Freed growled, jabbing the now slime-soiled cloth into Natsu's chest. The other mage was completely drenched in a foul-smelling greenish slime. Freed's characteristic long green hair was free of it's restraint, hanging in sticky strands around his face. His lighting bolt cowlicks were gone, flattened against his head by the ooze. Natsu was laughing so hard, that tears came to his eyes. Never in his life had he seen Freed so disheveled – not even after getting his ass kicked by Mirajane a while back. Freed's lips twisted into a scowl as he watched his teammate laugh at his expense, not seeing the humor in the situation. _

_ "I can't wait to tell Laxus about this one," Natsu snickered, taking the cloth and tucking it into his belt. _

_ Freed's left eye twitched in irritation, but he did not reply to the taunt. "Just go already. This is a race you know."_

_ "Alright, alright." Natsu turned and was surprised to find his way no longer blocked by the opaque gray force field from before. He looked at the other contestants waiting for their teammates, none of which seemed to see any difference. "Huh," he said to himself before turning back to Freed. "See ya on the other side, slime ball!" he cajoled, and then dashed out onto the field before him. The gray force field rose up behind him, obscuring his teammate and the other contestants from view._

_ Right after he had been transported to the waiting area, a voice had boomed, "Welcome to the eighth Daimatou Enbu! You are participating in the last leg of the race: Dash. Your goal is to make it to the finish line before any of the other teams. If you require assistance in any way on the game field, make a signal in the air and a referee will be with you shortly. However, each request for help will result in a time penalty, so use them wisely. Good luck!"_

_ Natsu did not know what he would need assistance with. He just had to run, right? The field before him appeared to be just that – a field with knee high grass, trees dotting the landscape here and there and a large boulder off to his left. There were no obstacles, traps or apparent tricks, which disappointed Natsu. If all he had to do was run, he was going to be very bored. _

_ As if his thoughts had summoned it, the boulder a few yards away began to move and rise up and off the ground. Natsu blinked as the large lizard-like monster rose onto all fours, and turned around to look at him. The two studied each other for a moment, Natsu's nostrils flaring and the monster's tongue flicking in and out as they tried to catch the other's scent. Suddenly, the lizard roared, revealing a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth, and charged Natsu. _

_ Grinning to himself, Natsu thought, _This is more like it! _Forming a fireball in his hands, he launched it at the monster. The satisfied smirk on his face faded quickly as his fire breezed around and past the charging reptile without leaving so much as a singe. He had a moment to think, _Shit, _before the monster reached him, smacked him with a taloned foot, sending Natsu flying into a tree twenty feet away. The small tree snapped under Natsu's weight, covering up the sound of a few of his ribs cracking, but not the pain that came with it._

_ Growling at the sudden sharp pain in his side, Natsu tucked and rolled, landing on his hands and knees. His first attempt at rising to his feet was met with another sharp stab of pain that made him fall to one knee. Taking a deep breath, Natsu surged to his feet, turned and started to run away from the pursuing giant lizard. Since the creature seemed to be immune to his magic, Natsu figured that the best thing to do. This event was called "Dash," so it made sense to him now that the only thing he needed to do was haul ass, and hop to run faster than the murderous monster behind him. _

_ Luckily, the lizard's legs were pretty short, so its torso was only about a foot above the ground, causing it to not run as fast as a perfectly healthy human could. Unfortunately for Natsu, his entire right side felt like it was on fire – and not in the usual, pleasant way – and he was finding it harder to catch his breath. Even though it was close behind, Natsu managed to stay just ahead of the ravenous lizard-monster until the landscape on both sides began to slope up, creating a distinct path between them. Just as the slopes on both sides reached his shoulder in height, and he felt like he would pass out from oxygen deprivation, the ground suddenly gave out from under him._

_ He hit the ground on his left side with a loud "OOF," the impact only sending a short stab of pain through his chest. Yeah, one or two of his ribs were definitely cracked. He made a mental note to have Wendy look at it as soon as she reached Crocus. Slowly he made his way to his feet and studied his surroundings. He was standing in a round cave-like room, water dripping down the walls and from the ceiling. The hole he had fallen through was about five feet above his head, and any thought of climbing back out was dashed when a familiar reptilian talon reached through the hole, accompanied by a disgruntled growling. Instead, the Fairy Tail mage decided to take the one and only exit out of the chamber. The presence of torches on the wall seemed to make that a good decision._

_ Taking two torches off the wall, Natsu munched on the flames as he walked down the passageway, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. At this point, he had no idea how far ahead he was of the other teams, though Natsu had been the first to start the last leg of the race. After ten minutes of walking and eating half of the torches, Natsu felt rested, fed, and his side, though still sore, no longer stung. The passage in front of him gradually widened until it was about twice its original width. Suspicious, Natsu continued forward slowly, shifting his focus from the ceiling to both walls and back up. _

_However, he completely forgot about the ground, not realizing his mistake until he stepped forward and heard a sharp click. Natsu froze, listening intently for any kind of sprung trap. Heaving a sigh of relief after nothing out of the ordinary happened, Natsu continued forward, lifting his weight off the hidden trigger in the floor. As soon as his foot left the floor, the entire passage began to tremble and from above Natsu could hear what sounded like stone grinding on stone._

"_Oh for the love of –" he started, but never finished as the ceiling opened up behind him, dropping down a boulder the width of the entire passage, which slowly began to accelerate in Natsu's direction. This leg of the race was sure living up to its name. Having learned his lesson from the lizard monster, Natsu decided to just run this time. There wouldn't be any fun in trying to fight a boulder anyway._

_The tunnel ahead was perfectly straight, no curves to hinder the boulder's path as it continued to gain speed. At first Natsu didn't have any problem staying ahead, but as the path steadily sloped down at a steeper angle, the boulder began to gain on him as it increased in speed. Natsu also had to slow down so that he did not lose balance and tumble head first down the tunnel. With each step, the dull sting in his side became a sharp, stabbing pain that pressed into his lungs, making it harder to breathe._

_Just as Natsu's pace began to falter and he could feel the edge of rock on his back, a bright light appeared just ahead, located above a chest-high ledge. Gathering his strength and judging the distance to be just right, Natsu jumped, landing roughly on the ledge on hands and knees. The boulder smashed into the ledge, shaking some dust and debris loose around him. Realizing this new space was too shallow to stand, Natsu crawled forward into the light. _

_One moment Natsu was in the cave, the next he was in a white waiting room with sofas, chairs and a table laden with food. Seeing his teammates staring at him in shock, Natsu heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed onto his back, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, his four teammates were standing over him: Gray, covered in dirt, some blood and fresh bruises; Freed, a sour expression on his face and now covered in dry, foul-smelling gunk; Erza, looking tired, but otherwise fine; and Juvia, who looked exactly like she had before the race began. _

"_Natsu-san," the water mage crouched down, concern in her eyes, "Are you alright?"_

"_Depends," he answered. "Did we come in first?"_

"_We don't know yet," Erza replied, offering him her arm. He gripped it thankfully, letting Erza help pull him to his feet. _

"_CONGRATULATIONS FAIRY TAIL," the voice boomed. "YOU HAVE COME IN FIRST PLACE FOR RACE 4. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED OF YOUR STANDING AFTER THE LAST RACE HAS BEEN COMPLETED. UNTIL THEN, PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR HOTEL."_

_At the other end of the room, a door opened and two security guards entered, gesturing the Fairy Tail team to follow them. As they passed the food table, Natsu grabbed two plates, quickly dumped a bunch of food on both, and followed his team out the door. _

"Ahaaahahaha," Cana laughed, as Natsu finished his story. "You gots beat up by a giiaaant lizard, thing!"

Natsu narrowed his eyes at the drunk woman. "I woulda beat that lizard into oblivion if it weren't enchanted, you know."

Cana didn't respond, but took a swig from her now empty bottle of rum. Looking at the empty bottle in disgust, Cana headed toward the bar for a refill, Erza following Cana with her gaze until she was sure she had made it to the bar without falling over. With Cana's departure, the table fell into silence until Natsu felt a humming vibration from his pocket. Frowning, he reached down and took out the white token from the race, setting it on the table in front of him. Once flat, the Fairy Tail symbol disappeared and was replaced with a red number two. The number disappeared after a few seconds, leaving a dirty, blank cloth behind.

"I guess that means we made second place," Gray broke the silence.

"Who got first, Juvia wonders?"

"Who do you think?" Gray muttered, staring into his mug.

Before anyone could reply, a commotion from the center of the bar brought everyone's attention to Bixlow standing on one of the tables, dolls circling around his head in a frenzy. "Attention! ATTENTION!" he shouted over the din, his dolls echoing in a discordant chorus, until everyone had quieted down. Evergreen and Elfman have an important _announcement_ to make!" Jumping down from the table, Bixlow, with Freed's assistance, pushed the two mages to the center of everyone's attention. Evergreen's face was bright red as she sent a death glare in Bixlow's direction, and then looked over at Laxus as if pleading for help. The lightning dragon slayer shrugged, and then gave his teammate a rare, mischievous grin.

Realizing no help would come, Evergreen sighed, looked up at Elfman, and asked, "Should we tell them?"

"Why not? It's good news," the large man smiled.

Taking a deep breath, Evergreen took Elfman's hand, and then announced, "Elfman and I are engaged!" At that last word, she held up her left hand, displaying a simple, yet elegant engagement ring.

A sudden wave of sound washed over the two lovers, as cheers of "Congratulations!" were issued and drinks were raised in toasts. Bixlow's dolls and Happy spun around the happy couple, throwing multi-colored confetti. Mirajane stood at the edge of the room, face frozen in a forced smile, Lisanna patting her arm in sympathy. Besides Mirajane, everyone else was in good spirits; an engagement giving enough reason to party until dawn.

Erza, Gray and Juvia had left the table to go congratulate their two friends, leaving Natsu alone. He watched the merriment as if detached from it, his previous good mood strangely dampened. Natsu glanced to his side at the empty seat beside him, a seat that should belong to her. In his mind's eye, Natsu could picture Lucy's surprise and immediate, beaming smile at Elfman and Evergreen's announcement, how her eyes would light up, and then she would fantasize about her own engagement, only to have Natsu and Happy tease her for it. Picking up the mug of beer Gray had given him, Natsu looked down into the amber liquid, watching the bubbles of carbonation rise to the surface and pop. Hearing Lucy's light-hearted laugh in his head, Natsu threw back the mug and chugged, ignoring the bitter taste. He welcomed the spreading warmth of the alcohol in his body; anything to help him forget about the achingly empty space beside him.


	5. Traps and Tigers

_(A/N: I'm incredibly sorry that it took so long to update! I've read all of your reviews and I really do appreciate all of your kind words! I've been pretty busy these past few months and my writing muse disappeared on me. I haven't written consistently in a really long time, so I'm just now getting back into writing anything that isn't a research paper or lab report. So, please bear with me in this! Updates will probably come fairly slow, though I will try my best to update faster than I have been! I already have this entire story AND most of it's sequel (yes, there's a sequel) planned out - so this thing will be finished . . . eventually! I just hope you stick with me until then!)_

Natsu groaned as he leaned on the railing of the Fairy Tail team's stadium box, holding his pounding head in both hands. Why had he thought drinking himself to oblivion last night a good idea? After the first few beers, he had been caught up in the guild's revelry and did not remember much of anything except a vague memory of shouting the Fiore national anthem with Gray, Elfman and Bixlow on top of the bar counter. He had woken up that morning, face down in his bed at the inn still dressed in yesterday's clothes, and feeling like someone was trying to split his head with an ax.

Save Freed, his other teammates were also still recovering from last night. Gray stood next to Natsu, his skin pallid with a sickly green undertone and glistening in a cold sweat – he had rushed to the bathroom a few times that morning. Juvia sat at the back, eyes closed, face flushed and was dripping water everywhere. Erza sat the farthest away from everyone – rather everyone sat the farthest away from her – glowering at nothing in particular. Freed stood in the center and sighed in exasperation as the first event was announced.

"Waterfall, hmm," Freed murmured to himself as the event's name appeared in the air above the stadium field.

"Looks like a water event," Gray squinted up at the large letters. "I guess that means Juvia?"

The men turned to look at the aforementioned water mage, who at this point was sitting in a puddle of water, trying to hold back hiccups. "I don't think Juvia's up to it at the moment," Freed frowned. "Tsk, _none of you_ are up for anything right now. I'll go since I'm the only one not hung over or still somewhat drunk. All of you try to sober up before the battle portion."

Grumbling to himself, Freed turned and headed down to the game field, ignoring the silly faces Natsu and Gray directed at his back. Freed was not a babysitter, especially for supposedly fully adult mages – but he sure as hell felt like one this morning. As happy as he was for Evergreen, she had chosen a bad time to make that announcement. He had refrained from most of the revelries last night and had turned in early. Bixlow had called him "No Fun Freed," before he left and had his dolls chant that behind his back all morning.

By the time Freed made it down to the game field, the other five contestants had already assembled. From Sabertooth, the guild that had received first place in the preliminaries, Sting Eucliffe stood with arms crossed, mouth twisted in a smirk. From Lamia Scale, Lyon Bastia looked at Freed in disappointment, having expected Juvia to come down. Those two were the only mages Freed knew; the mages from Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus and the newcomer ex-con guild, Phoenix Tear were all new faces to him. Freed felt a little uncomfortable with the thought of ex-black mages participating, considering the events from two years ago, but the Magic Council had assured the public that every mage in Phoenix Tear was fully rehabilitated. The Magic Council's assurances did not amount to much, in Freed's opinion, so he had decided to be wary of them for now.

"Oi, I was sure Juvia-chan would be the one participating," Lyon sidled up next to Freed, gaze resting on Fairy Tail's stadium box.

"Juvia is not feeling well this morning, so I am participating," Freed replied.

Before Lyon could ask what was wrong, the announcer's voice boomed across the stadium. "WELCOME TO THE EIGHTH GRAND MAGIC GAMES FIRST GAME EVENT: WATERFALL! We request all contestants change into their swimming gear before we release the rules of game play. The game will start in fifteen minutes!" There was collective sigh of disappointment from most of the men in the audience as they realized they would not be able to see Fiore's sexiest female mages in bikinis. Instead, all of the contestants for Waterfall were men, much to the delight of the women in the audience.

Fifteen minutes later, Freed stood with his arms crossed, a scowl etched on his completely red face with an accompanying glare. He ignored the chortles of amusement from the other contestants, as well as the jeers from the audience. He was going to _murder_ Bixlow and Evergreen as soon as this was over and done with. _Murder them slowly_. From the corner of his eye, he could see the two of them in the stands: Evergreen failing to hide her grin behind her fan, and Bixlow laughing so hard, he nearly fell out of his seat.

Instead of finding the navy blue swimming trunks he had packed, Freed found a tiny black speedo in its place. What made it worse was the fact that there was a big, yellow, sparkling lightning bolt on his ass with the inscription, "Property of L.D." on either side of the bolt. There had also been a note:

"_Dear Freed,  
Your other swimming apparel choice was boring, so we decided to _

_spice up your wardrobe. You're welcome! 33_

_ Love,_

_ Ever and Bixy_"

He was positively mortified. It did not help that in the stands, Laxus was fighting to hide a smirk. Biting his lip, Freed focused on the task at hand: winning this goddamn game.

After getting over the amusement of Freed in a Laxus speedo, Natsu studied the obstacle course that had appeared in the middle of the coliseum. The entire course consisted of a set of ridiculously complicated contraptions that were raised a few meters above the water. Platforms at water level were scattered throughout the pool, connected to the course with ladders. Most of the obstacles had water running over their surfaces, spilling over into the pool, giving the illusion of a bunch of waterfalls.

From what Natsu gathered from the rules, the point was to complete the obstacle course in the least amount of time, not about who made it to the end first. The contestants would start the course at one-minute intervals, avoiding any confusion of six men trying to cram onto one little path immediately. But it also provided a chance of entertainment of mages taking each other (and themselves) out in order to make it to the finish in the least amount of time. Unfortunately for Freed, flight magic was prohibited. He was, however, lucky enough to be the first to start the course. Natsu stopped paying much attention after that: watching a bunch of men slip and fall into water did not really hold his interest.

"You should pay attention, Natsu," Erza scolded, as the crowd roared with laughter, jeers and applause.

"Why?" he asked, snorting a little as Lyon froze the path in front of Sting, making the white dragon slayer fall flat on his face, and then tumble down into the water. "We already know Freed will win."

"How do you know that?" Gray frowned. "He's fallen on his ass a few times already."

Natsu turned to smirk at his two teammates. "He went first. Everyone else doesn't stand a chance. Besides, I'm pretty sure he fell on purpose most of those times."

Erza and Gray frowned, but went back to watching the spectacle unfold. Natsu's words were proven true just a moment later as Sting tried getting out of the water. As he crawled and stood on the platform, a purple wall of runes rose up around him, blocking his path. In normal writing, a message appeared in front of Sting, reading: "List twenty reasons Fairy Tail is the best guild ever. Shout them for everyone to hear." The crowd erupted in cheers and laughter as Sting scoffed and pounded on the purple force field keeping him stuck on the platform and out of the race. After his hissy fit, Sting begrudgingly started to list off praises for Fairy Tail, all the while glaring in Freed's direction.

Sting was not the only one to fall prey to Freed's enchantments. Lyon got stuck in one that required he list every member of his guild in alphabetical order, or wait 10 minutes. The contestant from Quatro Cerberus had to do the chicken dance while quacking like a duck, and Blue Pegasus' member had to complete 100 jumping jacks while continuously singing Fiore's national anthem. As Natsu expected, Freed won by a good margin, followed not too closely by Sting. The crowd erupted in cheers as Freed made his way back to his team's box in the audience.

"THAT CONCLUDES THE FIRST DAY'S GAME EVENT. BATTLES WILL BEGIN IN ONE HOUR!" the announcer boomed, as people began to stream out of their seats to get food, beverages, and stretch their legs.

"I hope you have all had time to recuperate from last night's debauchery," Freed commented as he entered the box, completely dry and dressed in his normal clothing. "One of you will be fighting soon."

Natsu just grinned, and turned back to look down into the coliseum. Even though he had not wanted to participate at first, the excitement of everyone around him had fed his enthusiasm to fight.

An hour later, the coliseum was packed to capacity as one member from each guild was set to fight one another. The first battle was Lamia Scale vs. Quatro Cerberus, ending in a tie. The second battle pitted Blue Pegasus against Phoenix Tear, the latter winning within ten minutes. Only two guilds were left: Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. The crowd went wild as they realized that these two rival guilds would fight on the first day.

"AND NOW, FOR THE EVENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. THE LONG AWAITED REMATCH BETWEEN FAIRY TAIL AND SABERTOOTH!" the announcer boomed, as the crowd roared in approval, then quickly hushed, waiting. "FROM FAIRY TAIL, NATSU DRAGNEEL!"

Natsu grinned, pounding his clenched fist into the open palm of his other hand, flames licking around his fist. "Let's do this!"

"FROM SABERTOOTH . . ." there was a pause as the announcer tried to build suspense. Natsu was already fairly confident it would be Sting, who smirked across the coliseum at his rival, also expecting his name to be called. ". . . ELLE HART!?" the announcer finished, sounding a little confused, but quickly regained composure. "It seems Elle Hart is one of Sabertooth's newest members, an unknown in this competition! Let's hope she can keep up with Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's newest S-Class Mage!" the announcer boomed.

Natsu frowned, but made his way down to the battleground. He was a bit disappointed that he wouldn't be fighting Sting or Rogue; he had wanted to see how much they had improved over these past two years. He was met with the mysterious, cloaked figure from the preliminaries. She stood on the opposite side of the ring in silence, face completely concealed by her hood. Though the breeze should carry her scent his way, there was nothing to suggest another person stood a few meters away from him.

Shaking off the unsettling feeling of not being able to smell his opponent, Natsu called over, "Let's make this a good fight, eh?"

The woman gave no reply, standing absolutely still, with only her cloak fluttering a little in the breeze. Thinking that was a bit rude, but not unexpected from a Sabertooth mage, Natsu prepared to jump into action as soon as the starting bell rang. Though he did not know this Elle Hart or her abilities, he knew to be wary of her. Sabertooth seemed to attract mages with unique magic.

The bell sounded, and Natsu charged, flames wreathing his body as he set up for the attack. Elle did not budge from her spot, causing Natsu to hesitate for just a moment in confusion. That moment was enough to blind him from the attack that came from his right, knocking him onto the ground. He stood, turned, and froze at whom he saw; someone he hadn't seen in two years: Loke, or rather Leo, an ex-member of Fairy Tail and one of Lucy's Celestial Spirits. The crowd gasped in surprise as another spirit attacked Natsu from behind, pushing him farther away from where Elle stood, still motionless. The other spirit was Taurus, ax gripped tightly in his hands as he and Loke slowly circled their former comrade. Natsu shook his head in confusion. How could this Elle have come into possession of Lucy's spirits? Her keys had disappeared with her into the gateway. He also had not seen her summon them; the woman had not moved a muscle since entering the arena.

"Why do you have Lucy's spirits?" Natsu shouted at the cloaked woman. "They're not yours! They belong with Lucy!" He turned to the two spirits, "Guys, why are you obeying her? Where's Lucy?"

Elle and the spirits did not respond. They did not even act like they had heard him. Instead, Taurus lunged at Natsu, swinging his ax in a deadly arc. Natsu ducked under the blow and punched Taurus in the solar plexus, causing the cow spirit to double over in pain. Loke took the opening and attacked, sending Natsu reeling. Shaking his head in disbelief, Natsu studied Loke and Taurus. They both were more powerful than he remembered them being. His confusion must have been obvious, because Loke finally broke the silence.

"Our power in this realm is a reflection of our Master's power," Loke explained, calmly adjusting his glasses. "Ms. Hart is much more powerful than our previous Masters."

"How can you say that?" Natsu yelled. "You're Lucy's precious spirits!"

"Lucy is . . . gone," Loke replied, expression unreadable.

Hearing those words from Loke, Natsu's unshakable faith that Lucy was still alive shattered. Roaring in rage and despair, Natsu charged at the Sabertooth mage, who had remained still and silent throughout the entire exchange. Taurus and Loke moved to intercept him, but with an overwhelming surge of magic, Natsu deflected their blows with his flames. Seeing her spirits brushed aside without much effort, Elle stepped back and took a defensive position. Within moments, Natsu had closed the distance, aiming a punch at her shadowed face. Before it could land, the cloaked figure wavered like a mirage fading and split in two, revealing the twin spirits, Gemini. Natsu's blow whizzed between them, throwing him off balance. Gemini giggled in malicious mirth as he regained his footing. Cursing, Natsu spun, ready to aim another blow at the bothersome spirits, but stopped his fist two inches away from another face he hadn't seen in two years.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, covering her face with her arms in defense. "Don't hurt me!"

Natsu froze. That was Lucy's voice. That was Lucy cowering in front of him. The shock of the moment stilled Natsu's flames, his focus entirely on her. "Lucy," Natsu whispered, his voice hoarse.

At his words, Lucy stopped quivering. "Gotcha," she said, raising her head above her arms, revealing completely black eyes and an evil grin.

Before he could register the deceit, a hard blow to his back sent him to the ground, landing next to the fake Lucy. Behind him, Elle lowered her leg from the powerful kick she had delivered, revealing tight, faun-colored breeches and knee-high brown boots. The imposter Lucy melted back into Gemini before popping back to the Spirit World. Natsu glared at the spot Gemini had just been, breaths coming heavy and hard. Anger boiled up within him, hot and vicious, as his vision drowned in red. How dare she use Lucy against him! How dare she force her spirits to use Lucy, their rightful owner, in that way!

Like quicksilver, Natsu turned and blocked the second kick aimed at his head. Grabbing her leg and using the momentum from her kick, Natsu threw Elle to the ground. She landed hard, her breath escaping in a loud huff. The blow was not enough to stun her, however, as she deftly rolled out of the way of Natsu's flame attack, climbing to her feet in one smooth motion. Natsu did not give her much time to breathe, charging almost as soon as she had stood, aiming a fireball at her head. Taurus took the hit just before it hit Elle, causing him to disappear in a poof of golden light. Running through the remnants of Taurus' power, Natsu continued to relentlessly pursue the Sabertooth mage. Though she was quick and deft enough to avoid most of his attacks, Natsu still managed to land a few minor hits. Each hit slowed Elle down just a bit, until Natsu found the opening he was looking for – Elle stumbled slightly, not used to long durations of physical battle. Distracted by trying to keep her balance, Natsu was able to land a solid blow, sending her flying a few meters away.

Natsu stopped, breathing hard from the effort of throwing so many empty punches. Elle slowly picked herself up from the ground, back facing her opponent. She made a loud "tsk" as she straightened her cloak, tugging at it like it bothered her. Just as Natsu started for her again, she whipped it off, much like Gray whipped his clothes off in the excitement of battle. Gasps of disbelief echoed throughout the entire stadium as Elle's face was revealed to everyone. At first, Natsu only saw her from behind: knee-high boots; breeches; a loose-fitting utility belt equipped with a whip, her key pouch, and a few knives; and a blue, embroidered waist corset with white halter top that bared her back, displaying the pink Sabertooth emblem directly between her shoulder blades. Her long blonde hair was styled up in two French braids that came together in a low-sitting side ponytail.

The breeze blew her scent his way, and its familiarity dispersed his anger like water on flame. His eyes widened as she slowly turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder. Achingly familiar brown eyes held his in a moment that, to Natsu, felt like an eon. Two years of absence came crashing down around him in that instant as he uttered her real name.

"Lucy."


End file.
